Firestone Battle of the Bands winners Modernlove. to headline Firestone Live stage

Following a very tough call for judges at final of the Firestone BOTB 2018, local Drogheda four-piece Modernlove. won out, meaning that they’ll be headlining the Firestone Live stage on Sunday night.

Winning the BOTB means not only prizes of equipment and recording worth over €4,000 for the band, but also the Sunday headline slot on the Firestone Live stage at Vantastival 2018.

Modernlove.‘s synth- and sample-driven sound is heavily influenced by ’80s acts like Prince and Michael Jackson. They’ve supported Hudson Taylor and The Academic in the past and are definitely a band whose star is in the ascendant: not to be missed!

(But if you do, remember their win at Firestone BOTB means they also have a slot on the main stage in 2019 for our very special Vantastival 10-year anniversary festival…)

This year Vantastival is teaming up with Every Can Counts to make sure all those bags o’ cans end up in the recycling where they belong!

Watch out for Every Can Counts reps on site and swing by their area for games, competitions and give-aways to encourage everyone to recycle their cans.

Bring them one can and you can play the ‘CAN You Kick It’ football speed test game, or you can have some ‘Yes We Can’ face art. Bring them a whole bag of cans, and get a prize.

It takes as little as 60 days for that can to be back on the shelf, set to be cracked open and enjoyed all over again. So all the fun and games will ensure that each can gets recycled in time to be enjoyed at Vantastival 2019.

We are delighted to bring back The Glasshouse Stage this year, an intimate acoustic experience in the newly refurbished 18th century glasshouse within Beaulieu’s enchanting walled garden. It will run from 4-9pm on Saturday and Sunday and showcase some great musicians.

Well known for his distinctive Hot Press illustrations, singer-songwriter David Rooney will perform with French harpist Floriane Blancke, while Sophie Coyle, EJ O’Reilly, Killian O’Driscoll and Tracy Gallagher are among the solo singer-songwriters to catch in this unique space. Bayonets, Susan O’Neill aka SON, Donegal’s Don’t Fear the Natives and Wicklow duo Hidden Stills are also on the bill. We are delighted to have a couple of very talented young musicians this year with acoustic slots in the Glasshouse for 16-year-old Beatrix Nova and 2018 Junior Eurovision entrant, 11-year-old Muireann McD.